Retriever
by Fly4ever
Summary: Set after Bloodhound, Retriever introduces Relonda, Rosto the Piper's little sister. Relonda can steal anything and she loves to do just that.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. This fanfiction, as I'm sure you can tell, is based on The Legend of Beka Cooper. This is set after Bloodhound. There is Rosto/Beka. Relonda is my character she is based on one of the characters from a book I am writing. **

**_Friday, December 8, 247_**

Noon

I have not been keeping up with my journaling and it has finally caught up with me. I must be more diligent in my duties. It has been two months since Pearl Skinner and her band of counterfeits. Of late there has been naught to write about. Rosto completed the Dancing Dove a few months ago. It is strange to be living across the street from the Rogue, but I have gotten used to it.

But at last something of interest has occurred. I never expected anything like this to happen.

I awoke to Pounce patting my head. _Get up_, he ordered. I groaned and rolled over.

"Pounce, let me sleep," I mumbled. Pounce turned, smacked me with his tail, and trotted to the window. He pushed open the shutters. Late morning light filled the room. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked.

_Almost ten_, Pounce admonished. I groaned again and started fumbling around for my clothes. When I was dress and I had fed the pigeons—they had been waiting for close to an hour according to Pounce—I walked down stairs. . I left my lodgings and crossed the street to the Dancing Dove. Thankfully in the early morning there aren't as many Rats. The very thought of eating with rats curdled my gullet.

I stepped into the doorway and came to a standstill. Rosto was spinning a blonde girl that I had never seen before in the air. The girl was laughing. Rosto's irresistible smile never left his face. The girl wrapped her legs around Rosto's waste and nuzzled her face in his neck.

I took a haste step back into the hallway and tried to control my breathing. Who was she? Another of Rosto's doxies most like.

Rosto and the girl walked out of the common room and into the hallway. The girl in his arms had her head nestled against his chest. Beautiful locks of pale gold hair tumbled to her shoulders. She had on a white shirt, a green vest, something I guessed could pass as a skirt though it came to the middle of her thighs, tight black pants, and knee-high boots. Knives were strapped to the inside of her arms. Two more were tucked into her boots. I could see the outlines of several more beneath the fabric of her shirt. She carried at least as many knives as Rosto did.

I had noted all of this before Rosto or his doxie had noticed me. Rosto looked up. His eyes took on the gleam of mischief I have come to associate with Rosto. He smiled at me.

"Beka," he said. His voice was tinged with a light Scanran accent. The sound of it sent shivers down my spine.

The girl looked up from Rosto's chest. Large, black eyes gazed at me from a heart-shaped face. Her mouth and nose were small. She appeared delicate and harmless except for the glint in her eye. Her skin was tanned from too much time in the sun. No less than seven studs and hoops decorated her ears. A thin chain dangled between the hoop in her cartilage and one of the hoops in her lobe.

"You are Beka Cooper?" Her voice was laced with a soft Scanran accent. She fingered a necklace that hung from her neck as she spoke. The letter R hung from a fine silver chain. The ring around her finger was also silver. Tiny runes were inscribed on the thin band of metal.

"Relonda," she said, "But my friends call me Rel." She stepped away from Rosto and held out her hand. Rosto appeared sad to see her leave his arms.

"Beka." I may not like the gixie, but I am not rude. May I take the time now to emphasize the fact that she is only a girl? She appeared close to sixteen years old. I never expected Rosto to take up with a girl nearly six years younger than him. Though I myself am only a year older than the girl and Rosto has made a point of making his feelings known to me.

Relonda—she is no friend of mine—had a firm grip. The thin fabric of her shirt was barely enough to contain her muscular arms and shoulders. The calluses on her palm dug into my hand. I could see small white scars crisscrossing her hand. Knife scars is my bet. Not what I would have expected from a doxie. Maybe my first impression was a misjudgment due to the fact the girl had been twined around Rosto like a vine.

"I'm surprised you allow a Dog to eat at your Court," Relonda said. She had a refined, elegant way of speaking that hinted at education. "Especially one with a reputation like Beka's." So my reputation precedes me, not a thought I find comforting.

"Rosto seems to be very good at drawing Rats to him," I said. I hadn't meant for it to come out as a jibe, but Relonda's eyes flashed.

"I prefer the term 'accomplished criminal'," Relonda said with a haughty air. She flipped her hair over her shoulder for added effect. A slender white scar running along her jaw to her collarbone caught my eye. Another knife scar. The gixie seemed accustomed to fighting.

Rosto rolled his eyes and put his hand on her shoulder. "I prefer the term 'looby'," he said. His tone was joking, but I could tell he meant what he said. Relonda glared up at him.

"It was nice meeting you, Beka," she said, "We'll be seeing a lot more of each other, I'm sure." From the tone in her voice I could tell that she didn't mean just in passing. Rosto flashed me a grin before wrapping his arms around Relonda and leading her to his room.

Pounce looked up at me, his purple eyes gleamed with what I took as sympathy.

"Pox rot," I cursed and stomped into the common room

"Beka," Ersken called from his seat with Kora. Aniki, as usually, was sharpening a blade. They sat at a small table away from the other occupants. I took the time as I walked to their table to examine Rosto's patrons. There was an unusual hush in the room that set my skin tingling.

I sat down next to Aniki and grabbed a pastry. "When did Relonda arrive?" I asked. Kora and Aniki exchanged glances.

"Today," Kora said, "Only a few minutes 'fore you came in."

"Didn't expect to her any time soon," Aniki muttered.

"Why not?" I asked, taking another pastry. I had only just realized how hungry I was.

"She spent the pass three years at a Scaran quarry," Kora said.

"For being a complete looby," Aniki said, stabbing her knife into the table. I stared from Kora to Aniki.

"She could have been naught, but thirteen," I exclaimed. Kora and Aniki nodded.

"Why was she sent to a quarry?" I asked. I was utterly flummoxed. Here I was thinking the girl was just an orange seller or a flower seller.

"A few weeks after she stole from the Scanran Rogue—" Kora began, but Ersken and I cut her off.

"She stole from the Scanran Rogue," we gasped at the same time. Kora and Aniki nodded.

"The Rogue wanted to see who could do it," Kora explained, "Anyone who failed would be fed to the river. There would be no repercussions on the one who succeeded and he would receive one third of what he stole. Rel thought it was the best thing in the world. She actually pulled it off. Rosto was furious. They didn't speak for weeks. They wouldn't even stay in the same room. A few weeks later, Rel got it into her head to steal from one of the Scanran merchants. Only thing is she wanted everyone to know that she was the one who did it. She wasn't on the best terms with the Rogue after she showed that a thirteen-year-old gixie could steal from him, so she had no safe place to go. She got away clean and went to the kennel the next day to return what she had stole. They locked her up and shipped her off to the quarries before any of us knew any different. The Rogue had a hand in it that much is certain." Kora finished her story and took another pastry. Ersken was gaping at her. I quickly shut my mouth.

"Cracknob," Aniki muttered under her breath. That was true. What had she expected? A clean slate like the one she had gotten from the Rogue?

"You'd think bein' Rosto's sister would mean she has more sense," Kora said.

"She's Rosto's sister?" Ersken gasped. I gaped at Kora.

"No one can ever tell with those two, but yes they are related," Aniki said, "Every family has to have at least one cracknob."

"Now she's her in Corus," I muttered. It sounded like I would finally have something of interest to look forward to. The only problem was that the 'interesting thing' was Rosto's sister. If she chose to try her hand at thievery here in Corus on my watch I would be forced to bring her to justice.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Friday, December 8, 247**_

Midnight

I am more tired than I have been in two months. I can't think straight. I am also writing this in the kennel's infirmary.

After breakfast I went out to feed the pigeons. The ghosts didn't have anything useful to tell me. December seemed to be a quiet month as far as killings went. I returned to my lodgings, wrote down the morning's events, and at long last went on to the kennel. I had been itching to bag me some Rats all morning. When I arrived at the kennel, I found Tunstall and told him all about the newcomer to Corus. I described every detail of Relonda that I could remember.

I will not write the events leading up to the incident in the tavern. They are far too dull and dreary.

Tunstall, limping slightly, and I were walking pass the Barrel's Bottom when a chair shattered the glass pane of the window.

"Give me the money," someone roared. Tunstall and I exchanged glances before rushing into the tavern. All eyes were on the center table. Relonda stood on the table, a look of pure innocence on her face.

"I don't have your money," she said sweetly as she jumped into the air to avoid a man's arm. Relonda caught sight of us and grinned. She kicked the man in the face. He went tumbling backwards and crashed into another man's chair. The other man swore as his drink spilled over him and kicked the man in the head. The two men grappled. The one who had been threatening Relonda was thrown across the table and slammed into three other men. The common room exploded. Fights broke out in every direction. Tunstall blew his whistle to summon more guards before wading into the mess. I caught sight of Relonda leaping over the counter and ducking behind it. The tavern keeper had a cudgel in hand was trying to restore order.

Three more guards burst through the door. I ran to the counter. It wasn't easy. I had to bash a few heads to make my intentions clear. When I finally reached the counter, I ducked behind it. Relonda sat on the floor with a pouch of coins in her lap. She was smiling as she listened to the uproar. She was also twirling one of her knives through her fingers without even looking.

"You going to return that?" I asked, gesturing to the pouch. Relonda looked up at me and grinned.

"Hi, Beka," she said, "I told you we'd meet again." She slipped the knife away and shifted into a crouch.

"Give me the man's pouch," I said, holding out my hand. My other hand was on my baton. Relonda pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Nah, I'd rather not," she said. Then she leaped straight into the air. I gaped as she twisted, landing on the counter like a cat, and took off across the tables that weren't being used as shields.

"Tunstall," I shouted as I ran around the counter. Tunstall looked up. He was holding two men by their heads. The sight was rather comical. He saw where I pointed and nodded. I raced through the seething mass of people, almost getting clubbed in the head by a crazy woman.

I ducked beneath her swing and raced to the door. I saw Relonda disappear around the corner and I ran after her. I pounded down the street, ducking and weaving between people and carts. I skidded around a corner and stopped. There she was, ducking down an alley across the street. I raced after her. She was fast, I'd give her that, but she must not have had a lot of time to run in the Scanran quarries. She was lagging and she knew it.

She raced down another street. I could almost reach out and touch her. As we came to a cross roads, a cart pulled out in front of us. Relonda didn't have time to stop. Instead, she jumped into the air. She almost cleared the horse's back. Her toes caught on the saddle and she tipped forwards. She landed with smack and rolled with the impact. I ducked around the cart, but she was already on her feet and tearing down the street.

She ducked down another alley and I followed. It was a dead end. A ten-foot wall stood before us. Relonda didn't stop as she raced to the wall and jumped up. She kicked against the stones and caught the lip of the wall. She hauled herself up and vanished. I swore and ran around the building, searching for the other side of the alley. I found it, but there was no sign of Relonda.

A flash of blonde hair caught my eye. I spotted her ducking down another alley. I raced after her. She was gasping for breath and limping slightly.

"Relonda," I shouted. She turned and grinned. She ran faster. I ran after her. We were both gasping for breath when we rounded the corner. The Dancing Dove was ahead of us. We ran towards it. Relonda mounted the steps two at time. She tripped over the last. I snatched her arm and dragged her down. She swore as I landed on top of her. She squirmed and kicked and swore some more, but I had hold of her and I was not letting go.

She heaved and gasped for breath. "Okay," she gasped, "You won." I stood up and dragged her with me. The door swung open, smacking Relonda in the face. We staggered backwards down the steps. Rosto stood in the doorway.

"What is going on?" he asked, shutting the door behind him. The street was almost completely deserted. Everyone seemed to have found somewhere else they needed to be.

"She stole a pouch of coins and started a bar fight," I explained, "Tunstall and three other Dogs are sorting it out as we speak."

"I didn't start the bar fight," Relonda said. She twisted against my hold, but couldn't get free. Rosto sighed.

"Rel, what did we just talk about?" Rosto asked. Relonda looked up him with a feigned look of thoughtfulness.

"Hm, not exactly sure," she said. She probably would have stroked her if I hadn't been holding her arms behind her back.

"How much?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"How much do I need to pay to make sure she doesn't go to the kennel?" I cast around for a reasonable sum.

"The cost of healing any Dogs injured in the bar fight and the amount in the pouch she stole," I said. Rosto didn't even bargain. He just nodded. I let Relonda go. I knew Rosto would keep his word.

Relonda limped forward and flung her arms around his waist.

"Relonda." Relonda looked up. A wicked gleam shone in her eyes as she tossed the purse at me. Rosto sighed.

"Let me know how much we owe," he said before turning and leading Relonda around the side of the Dancing Dove.

I made my way back to the kennel. When I arrived, I went to Ahuda.

"There you are, Cooper," she said without looking up. "Where have you been?"

"Returning the Rogue's little sister to him," I said. Ahuda looked up.

"I heard she caused that mess at the Barrel's Bottom."

"She did. Rosto's promised the amount it costs to heal any Dogs injured in the bar fight and the amount in that purse." I placed the purse on Ahuda's desk. Ahuda raised her eyebrows.

"Nice work, Cooper. I'll deal with that. Tunstall would like to see you."


End file.
